


Real Time

by bensgoodboysweater



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: About Time, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Ben Solo - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Kylo Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Lawyer Kylo Ren, Rey - Freeform, Reylo - Freeform, Smut, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars Modern AU, Teacher Rey (Star Wars), Time Travel, kylo ren AU, modern day reylo, new york reylo, reylo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bensgoodboysweater/pseuds/bensgoodboysweater
Summary: Kylo Ren has disassociated himself from his past, focusing on his future. But when he finds out he can travel through time, things start to get foggy.Rey is a kinder garden teacher who goes on a blind double date that could end in her forever.But will they get the timing right?An AU based on the movie About Time!I do not own these characters nor the base plot for this piece.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Reylo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Real Time

The sound of traffic filled the space, the smell of gas and coffee accompanying it like it always did. People walked briskly through the streets, phones in their hands and headphones in their ears, oblivious to the chaos that surrounded them. The homeless man by the subway entrance sat with his cardboard sign propped against the foot of his sleeping body, so used to this environment that he found it relaxing. And Kylo Ren towered above the rest as he made his way from the staircase underground and towards the law office he’d worked at for just under five years now. 

He’d known these streets for years, found himself walking through the busy city of New York at all times of day and night. At this point he could navigate the sidewalks drunk, and he had every now and again. But the route he knew best was from his Brooklyn brownstone to the subway station, taking the B train into Manhattan, and exiting at a station two blocks from his office building. As a fairly new lawyer with his firm and overall, Kylo had spent practically seven days a week at this office trying to prove his worth and talent to the partners. Everyone in the office knew him as the first one in and last one out. 

Today was different though, today everything seemed to be going wrong. The weather forecast the night before had said there was a zero percent chance of rain so how was he to know that once he emerged from under Manhattan that he’d be greeted by a torrential downpour and sea of umbrellas in his path. How was he to know that today would be the one day that his at home espresso machine would decide it didn’t want to function? There was certainly no way to predict the mood in which his stranger roommate would wake up in, which of course today was a sour one. And of course he hadn’t remembered that today was his father’s birthday. That he’d have to pack a bag, leave work early, and catch a train towards Connecticut in order to make it to the birthday dinner on time. A dinner in which he truly had no desire to go anyway. He didn’t speak to his family much. 

Needless to say, this wasn’t Kylo’s day.

So when he entered the glass office building, he kept his head down as he walked through the lobby and into the elevator headed to his desired floor level. At least he’d matched his suit to his shoes today, which wasn’t necessarily hard since every suit he’d owned was either black or dark gray and all of his shoes were black. Sometimes he’d wondered if to others his closet looked like the ones in cartoons, racks and racks of the same looking items repeating themselves. But to him, each one was different. Each one served a purpose, held memories. And the one today meant he didn’t want to be bothered. And he truly hoped that his colleagues would understand the message.

There was already a pile of paperwork on the desk once he arrived, if he didn’t start quickly there was no way that he could finish without taking his work on the train with him. But first things first, coffee. And after setting down the black briefcase and leather duffle bag by the black desk in his office, Kylo followed the scent of roasted coffee beans and immediately poured himself a mug full. One of the interns who always seemed to find a way to get close to Kylo offered him some of the creamer packets that were next to the coffee pot. He shook his head, bringing the mug to his lips without another word and the girl lowered her hand. 

“Black coffee drinker? You’re either a freak or a serial killer. Which one are you?” she asked, her flirtatious tone and coy smile easy to spot from a mile away. 

Kylo chuckled lowly, shaking his head slightly. She wasn’t the first intern to give him that same smile and this wasn’t the first nor the last time he’d have to turn one of them down. 

“Maybe I’m both, you never know” he said, quirking an eyebrow before turning away and heading back to his littered desk. 

Out of everyone in the office, it seemed that Kylo always got the most attention from his female colleagues. He’d never go after one of them but that didn’t mean he couldn’t tease. Oftentimes on the way to a meeting, Kylo would hear some of his coworkers in the breakroom gossiping about him and how mysterious he was. And that’s the way he liked to keep it. The only women he bothered with were always ones he met in a bar after winning a case, drunk on power and bourbon. He’d approach them and sweet talk his way into bringing home one, maybe two or three, from the bars and into his brownstone. Women were always attracted to his aura that seeped with authority and force. And once he was done, he’d send them wandering out the door at ungodly hours of the morning feeling satisfied and ready for the next day.

Starting out years ago, Kylo had set up rules for himself. No dates, no sleeping over, and most importantly no feelings. It was the best way to make sure he achieved his purpose, to make sure he became a hierarchy in the New York judicial system. When he got recruited by his mentor and boss, Snoke, during law school there was a vision planted in his head. Kylo wasn’t meant to just be some lawyer handling divorce court or one that never saw the courtroom. When opposing prosecution saw Kylo Ren’s name on the docket they were supposed to know that he was ruthless, that he was powerful, and that he could command a jury. So he had to stay sharp on his toes, train his body and his mind for the strains of trying to hold a whole structure in his hands.

The only reason he was even leaving the city for his father’s birthday was because his mother had been calling his office everyday to convince him to go. She’d left endless voicemails, spammed his email inbox on both his personal and business email, bombarded his cell phone with daily text messages and pictures of him as a child. At one point last week he’d even received a package at his door and opened it up to reveal just a sticky note that read ‘Ben, please come see your father - Mom’. If there was one thing Kylo would say about his mother it was that she was the most stubborn woman he’d ever met, in accepting his name change and in relenting on the pressure for him to attend this dinner. He finally just got so frustrated with her insertion into his everyday life that he agreed to make the trip. But just dinner and one night in the guest bedroom. The next morning he’d be on the train back into the city before the sun even rose. 

The day seemed to get away from him as Kylo filled out paperwork and drafted an opening statement for an upcoming case he had. In just a few days he’d start the process of trying to convince a jury that his client beating the shit out of his neighbor for no reason was justified. Working as a defense attorney was a lot of playing on emotions and tight rope walking on the line between right and wrong. It was thrilling, adrenaline always coursed through his veins as he graced the courtroom. You could say he got a little cocky while on the job, knowing just how to trip witnesses up on their testimony and bring even the smallest sliver of doubt into the mind of his jurors. When he was on the job, he was unstoppable. 

And if it hadn’t been for the alarm he’d set this morning, Kylo wouldn’t have remembered to pull himself out of his work and head towards grand central station. The terminal was loud, filled with tourists taking pictures and speaking in a variety of languages he didn’t understand. His tall frame pushed through the crowds, still clad in his black suit with matching black tie as he navigated the halls. It wasn’t too long until he was standing in front of where his train would be pulling up any minute now, hands holding his phone while he scrolled through work emails already. He’d be surprised if the building wasn’t burning down tomorrow by the time he made it back.

Before he knew it, the industrial train pulled up and Kylo boarded the cab. He took his seat tucked against the window, not caring too much about the view but instead about the light so that he could pull the pressing items from his briefcase. For the most part the train cabin he was in was empty, except for a father and his son sat on the other side than he was. The son looked to be in his early teens and his father was sitting across from him as they talked animatedly across the walkway. They’d spent the day in the city, it seems they’d taken some time to see the universities that New York was known for. It involuntarily made Kylo think back to when his father brought him into the city to look at colleges all those years ago. 

Back then Kylo was a whole different person. He was young and naive, inexperienced in life, weak and feeble, he was just Ben Solo. Those were times when his biggest worries were growing out his hair and his long limbs fitting into his clothes as he kept growing at an alarming rate. His father had never been to college, probably never stepped foot on a campus in his whole life. His mother on the other hand had finished a four year degree before being swept up in her work, but both of them wanted to show their son what life could offer him. They’d wanted him to explore the opportunities that they hadn’t necessarily been afforded or been able to take advantage of. So his father took him on a train into New York and showed him what a big city was really like. Kylo had wanted to see the museums, the Alice in Wonderland statue in central park, feel the culture of the city. Instead they ate hot dogs in Union Square. 

When they toured Columbia University, Kylo had never felt so out of place and awkward in his whole life. Not only was he in the weird stage of his adolescence where acne was appearing on his face and his voice couldn’t keep a consistent pitch if he tried, but his father had taken the opportunity to make the whole tour about him. This seemed to happen anywhere they went, Han Solo was always a spectacle to behold. What with all of his stories of travelling and adventures, how could strangers not be captivated and hanging on his every word. None of this was new at all to Kylo, his whole life he’d felt like a background character in the story that was his parent’s lives. From the times he would take care of himself everyday because his parents were too caught up in their own schedules to that trip where his dad made Kylo’s first college experience about him. Just thinking about it now made Kylo scoff in his seat, shaking his head slightly at the unsettling memories that kept flashing into his mind.

During his senior year when he was applying to schools Kylo applied to many but his number one choice was Columbia. I wasn’t because of their stellar Ivy league academic program, not for the beautiful modern campus or the fact that he could lead his undergrad right into law school at the same establishment. No, Columbia University was his top choice because he didn’t want the Solo legacy at the school to be limited to his father’s actions during that simple tour years before he’d even applied. This was where he wanted to make a mark, forge his own path and step away from the shadows in which his parents kept him. Once he was accepted and settled into the new life that awaited him, he knew this was the place where would truly make a name for himself. And he did. Within those dorm rooms, lecture halls, all night study sessions in the libraries, and the beginning of his coffee addiction, he became Kylo Ren. He became himself.

He hoped the young boy on the train discovered himself too.

Just over an hour later, the train came to a halt in New Haven and Kylo felt an unpleasant weight suddenly resting over his chest. It had been over three years since he’d last been here, since he’d faced the ghosts of his past that remained here in Connecticut. He hated running into people from high school, seeing the door frame in his childhood home where his mother tracked his height, the feeling of forced nostalgia as he passed the park where he’d played tee ball as a child (while his parents still had time for him.) And right now what he hated most was that small tug on his heart strings when he noticed his mother on the train platform, an apprehensive smile on her face and a welcome home sign in her hands. Kylo sighed, if how tight his chest felt right now was any indicator of the future this was going to be the longest night of his life.

When he exited the train, duffel bag over his shoulder and briefcase in his hand, his mother ran up and hugged around his torso. In the time since he’d last seen her Kylo had forgotten how short Leia was, the top of her head just barely grazing his shoulder. He tapped her back a few times with his free hand before pulling away, clearing his throat slightly and looking around as he fixed his bag on his shoulder. The station hadn’t changed much since he’d been here last but Leia sure had. Her braided hair was now graying, the crinkles around her eyes more pronounced when she smiled, her hands seeming more fragile than ever as she wiped a piece of dust off of Kylo’s suit jacket. If he thought hard about it, delicate would never have been a word he’d use to describe his mother in any instance until now. Had it really been that long since he’d seen her? 

She led him to the car parked by the curb, letting Kylo slip his duffel and briefcase into the backseat before he sat in the passenger side. Like most things in his old life, he had outgrown this car. Sure it had been fine when he was sixteen and learning how to drive but now it was obvious from how close his knees were to his chest and the fact that his head was touching the roof that he’d outgrown it. Being so big in this small car made him feel like he was thirteen all over again and his jeans were rising above his ankles from his seemingly overnight growth spurts. He hated this feeling, this notion that somehow he was still the big eared boy who would never become anything extraordinary. So he pushed it down, dismissing the doubt from creeping into the back of his mind. He’d gone so long without feeling like Ben Solo and he wouldn’t let it get to him now. 

The drive to his childhood home wasn’t a long one but his mother sure knew how to fill the time with as many questions as she could get in. She asked about his work, his home, his life in the city. All of Kylo’s answers were short, just giving enough information to pass by as normal conversation. He knew that his mother didn’t approve of the work he did, defending criminals and working for Snoke, so he didn’t want to divulge in it just to earn remarks from her in return. When she asked if he was seeing anyone Kylo couldn’t help but roll his eyes, of course she was going to ask about his dating life or in this case lack thereof.

“I worry about you, alone in that big city without anyone to come home to” Leia said after her son informed her he had no desire to date anyone and that his career was more important. 

Kylo shook his head, watching out the window as they made the turn onto the street he’d grown up on. “I’m fine, I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time now” he said, the end sounding softer than the beginning of his statement.

As soon as the car pulled into the driveway, Kylo opened the door in desperate need to stretch his body. If he were to stay in the crouched position of the car for much longer it was possible his body would never be able to return to its normal state. Sleeping on his old mattress was probably already going to wreck his back enough, probably not a good idea to add another element into the mix. Once he turned, he took in the house with his eyes for what seemed like the first time in forever. The brick two story house stood before him, lawn neatly manicured and white windows open to welcome to the breeze. Looking at it now, this house felt foreign to him. Vague memories filled his head of learning to ride his bike in the driveway, climbing onto the roof during high school to drink beer and watch the stars, being forced to take the family dog Chewie for walks while the snow poured down around them. But mainly he remembers watching out of these white windows and wondering when his parents would come home so he wouldn’t be alone anymore. He remembered always being alone.

When they entered the house the smell of cashmere and jasmine immediately met Kylo’s nose as he breathed in the familiar scent of the candles his mother always had lit. She was very particular about smells and religiously bought the same candles throughout his whole life to keep her favorite scent present in the home. It was feminine and welcoming and not something that Kylo had felt in so long but he pushed the slight warmth in his chest down, not allowing himself to feel like anything but a stranger in his own home. He set his leather duffel bag down by the door and that’s when he heard the footsteps approaching from most likely the garage. Kylo looked up to see his father and the chocolate lab he’d grown up with walking to meet him, a classic charming smile on Han’s face as it always was.  
“Hey Kid” Han said softly, taking a moment to take in the sight of his estranged son and how much he’d grown. How much he’d grown to look like his father.

Kylo was thankful that his father didn’t attempt to go in for a hug and they both settled for just standing there for a while, looking at each other and trying to figure out what to do next. There was the sound of whine, which broke up the awkward silence and drew everyone’s eyes to the dog standing in the middle of it all. Chewie had just finished sniffing Kylo’s shoes and was now looking up at him with those big old brown eyes. That definitely pulled something near Kylo’s heart and he bent down to scratch his fingers between the old dog’s ears. Han and Leia watched their two boys interact again after all of this time, both not wanting to admit how much warmth this brought to both of their lives.

After a moment, Kylo looked up and his eyes met his father’s. “Happy birthday” he said, clearing his throat before turning and reaching into the duffel bag he’d set down. 

When it came to presents, he wasn’t good at buying them. The whole process of having to pick something out for someone else gave him anxiety and unneeded stress in his already stressful enough life. He didn’t even participate in Holiday events at his office, celebrations were something he’d avoid if he could. But since his mother had made this particular celebration so hard to get out of, he figured it would be especially rude of him to show up without at least something for Han’s birthday. So he pulled out the glass bottle of caramel brown liquor that he’d paid a hefty amount for at the liquor store in Brooklyn and handed it to his father. 

Han turned the bottle over in his hands, a whistle leaving his mouth as he examined it with wide eyes. He knew an expensive bottle of bourbon when he saw one and he promptly thanked his son for the gift. “Now I know I raised you right if you picked out this bottle. We’ll share it over dinner in a bit” he said, clapping his hand on Kylo’s shoulder before taking the bottle off to the cabinet in the dining room that held all of the alcohol. 

It took Kylo everything in himself to not scoff after his father’s statement. Han hadn’t raised him to know the value of a good bourbon or whiskey, his liquor cabinet had. After so many years of getting left alone and ignored, young Ben found himself drawn to taking a few sips out of different bottles every time his parents left him alone for an extended period of time. Maybe at the beginning part of him had hoped that the two of them would notice the bottles weren’t as full as before, that they would see the problem and vow to be home with him more often. But that never came and by his junior year of high school, Ben had completely polished off bottles of the cabinet without so much as a question from his parents. When college and frat parties came around and the newly invented Kylo discovered cheap liquor, he realized just how good he had it back home with a cabinet of unlimited high quality stock. Maybe Han could take credit for Kylo’s taste, because he’d left him with the good stuff and a reason to start drinking it.

After his father walked away, Leia took the opportunity to show her son all of the new improvements they’d made to the home. A bigger tv in the living room, a newer more modern dining room table, all minor changes to him but to his mother they all seemed very exciting. As they walked by the garage door Kylo couldn’t seem to help himself from asking about the thing he had no doubt his father loved more than anyone else. The beat down mustang that Han won in some kind of poker game that apparently before Kylo was born was the most amazing car. Last he saw the thing could barely get started without the help of some self installed machinery from Han.

“Does he still have that piece of junk in there? That thing should have been blown off the road by now if so,” he asked, hand coming up to push some of his long black hair from his face.

Leia laughed and nodded before saying, “It’s his pride and joy, he’ll probably die in that car.” Funny, you’d think someone’s pride and joy should be their family but it was proven long ago that the Solo family could never seem to get their priorities in order. She then took a moment to look over Kylo’s outfit, “You know you can go change before dinner to make yourself more comfortable.”

Kylo looked down to see the black suit he still wore, the jacket perfectly tapered to his large shoulders, the red cufflinks still on the wrists of his sleeves to add just the smallest amount of color. He felt comfortable in his suit, he felt safe in it. What did she expect him to change into, a battered old high school hoodie that would be two sizes too small for him now? He wasn’t going to change, especially when they were going into town for dinner. Kylo had set a standard for himself, he rarely left home in anything besides one of his designer suits that conjured respect from everyone around him. So he shook his head to his mother and told her that he was comfortable in what he was wearing. 

After a few minutes Han appeared with his classic navy jacket over top of the shirt he was wearing, the same jacket he wore out anywhere they went. The thread on the seams was wearing down, showing his obvious over use of the item. But everyone knew that this was another thing that Han would never part with, it was as important to him as that beat up old mustang he called the falcon was. And once they were all ready to go the three of them left the house, Kylo already regretting coming solely because he would have to scrunch himself into that car again. He almost suggested they walk for his sanity but he knew that asking his parents to do a thirty minute walk would be incredibly insensitive. In New York he was used to walking everywhere, in Connecticut they had the “luxury” of cars. 

So he slid into the passenger seat again, Leia thankfully volunteering to sit in the back as Han took the driver’s seat. Kylo already knew as did his mother that whenever Han was in a car, he was always the driver. That’s the way it had been Kylo’s whole life, even when he was learning how to drive in high school. They’d pawned the driving lessons off onto his uncle Luke who was far from patient or even helpful when it came to teaching in any capacity. So most of Kylo’s driving practice was done in nearby parking lots at ungodly hours of the night accompanied by his friends who mainly wanted him to do donuts. Thankfully he didn’t need to drive much in New York and even if he did, no one was asking him to drive like a maniac for an adrenaline rush.

They ate at the same restaurant they always did, a small family owned italian place tucked away from the main road. Kylo remembered celebrating his high school graduation here, the last time he’d seen his uncle. He’d overheard them all talking while he was coming out of the restroom, how they all agreed that it was best that Ben go away for school and get away from home. They sure seemed happy to ship him off, but how could they not have been? Finally they wouldn’t have to pretend like they knew he existed, they’d just get to keep living their lives and forget they had a son until the tuition bills came. If he kept thinking about it, Kylo would get as mad as he did that night and probably storm out of here the same way he did then as well. And really, he didn’t need to bloody his knuckles on the concrete outside tonight. So he ordered his carbonara and made small talk to pass the time.

The meal went by fast, mainly filled with Leia animatedly talking about some new plans she had for her non profit and Han reminiscing about the good old days. Thankfully Kylo didn’t have to talk much and when the check came he slipped his credit card to the waitress, who’d been trying to flirt with him all evening and paid. His mother gawked at him, telling him that he didn’t have to pay and that they could manage. But Kylo didn’t want to leave the impression that he needed anything from them still, that he was still the young boy they’d known all those years ago. When the check came back and he was signing the receipt, Leia took a glance at his card and inhaled sharply. 

“You….. It doesn’t have your name on it” she said softly and almost incredulous that the name Benjamin Solo didn’t occupy the space on the bottom left of the black metal card.

Kylo sighed at that. Had they thought he was just telling people his name was Kylo Ren and then providing a different name on legal documents?

“That’s not my name anymore, no one has called me that in a while. I got it legally changed before I took the bar, everything needed to be cohesive.” he said simply because it was true, they’d just never bothered to ask in the last over five years. Again he was invisible to them.

After that awkward silence followed and he wasn’t directly looking at her but he could see out of the corner of his eye what looked like his mother wiping a tear. Why she was so sentimental over a name that meant nothing to him he couldn’t grasp. They’d never taken the time to know Ben, so why did it matter that he was gone? The ride home was as awkward as the ending of dinner had been, Han trying to lighten the mood by talking about how much Chewie was going to love the doggie back they were bringing home. Leia couldn’t be bothered to even respond, lost looking out the window. When they arrived home and the food was put down the lab, Han clapped a hand on Kylo’s shoulder. 

“I think it’s about time I have a drink with my son” he said before Leia announced she was going to rest and wished them both a good night. Which left the two men to retire to the den, sitting on the leather sofa and opening the bottle of bourbon Kylo had gifted him earlier. They both drank it the same, neat and out of short square glasses. 

The first sip went down smooth and Kylo was glad he’d gotten this bottle for his father, selfishly just because he had something to drink off the discomfort he’d felt from the evening. They sat in silence for a moment, drinking their bourbon and glancing at the prelit fireplace that lightly illuminated the room. Kylo knew what Han was going to say before he even said it.

“You’re going to give your mother a heart attack one of these days. She worries about you more than you know”

And Kylo sighed, finishing off his glass before pouring himself another. If they were going to be getting into this he’d have to fill his symptom with a lot more liquor.

“She doesn’t need to, I can fend on my own. I’m my own person and I have been for a while now” he said, taking a large sip from the glass afterwards. When he looked over, his father was giving him a sad expression.

“It wasn’t all bad was it? Huh? Some of it was...good” Han said, looking at his son who resembled so much a younger version of himself. Not just in his looks but in his wild attitude, his strong presence. The stubbornness and sharp mouth he mainly got from his mother. 

“Some of it,” Kylo said slowly, eyes now trained on watching the flames of the fire dance like he had so many nights before from this very same spot. He looked over when he heard Han clearing his throat, a more serious expression taking over his weathered face. 

Han seemed to think about his words, for once, and go over them in his head before speaking. “There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for some time now but the timing never seemed right, it never felt right.” And at this Kylo got intrigued, expecting the worst to come from his father’s lips next. “You’re my son and that means you have a certain gift, something strange and unfounded and hard to describe”

Seconds went by without another word as it seemed Han was composing his next words properly before Kylo tried to pry it out of him, “I’m listening” he said, eyes intent on the man in front of him. 

“The simple fact is that the men in this family… us… we have the ability to travel in time” Han said, eyes cautiously watching his son for a response.

Kylo almost busted out laughing right there, he had to admit that one brought a smile to his face. “You actually got me there,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Drunk off of one glass of bourbon Solo?”

But Han shook his head, “No B-...Kylo listen to me. It’s all true, I’ve been doing it for most of my life.” He spoke with such a sense of urgency and assurance that Kylo had never heard come from his father.

He eyed him warily, fully convinced at this point that there was either a hidden camera crew or something terribly wrong with his father. There had to be some sort of explanation for this insanity spewing out of Han’s mouth. Kylo sighed, “So what are you trying to tell me?”

“Son, you’re a time traveler”


End file.
